John Smit more than held his own in the scrum

The 1st test match against the touring B&I Lions game down to the wire on Saturday. An admitted mistake by Springbok management in sending on a whole host of replacements almost cost us a game that I felt was in the bag from early on. lets look at a few key moments in the game:

1st Half

• Who would have known that referee Bryce Lawrence would have made a stand against French TMO, Christophe Berdos, to rule a 22m dropout early in the game, after the TMO called for a 5m B&I Lions scrum – Good call by Lawrence, the right decision and one of the key moments of the game. Read More >>

Hammies Clubhouse - big screen, cheap beer

With just under 2 hours remaining until the 1st test between the visiting B&I Lions and the Springboks, the tension and excitement is reaching a pinnacle. Twelve years in the making, twelve years of waiting, twelve years for a chance at revenge. How sweet it will be.

I’ll be watching the game at Hamilton’s RFC, the oldest rugby club in South Africa, founded in 1875, before the 1st B&I Lions (formerly British Isles) tour to Australia and New Zealand in 1888. Hamilton’s aka Hammies has a proud history, with many SA rugby greats representing them over the years. Players such as John Appleton (who was a member at Hamilton’s RFC for over 75 years), Carel and Michael Du Plessis, Frank Mellish and Jan Pickard. Hammies most recently smashed Helderberg Rugby Club 70 – 0 in a one sided affair on their home fields and are sitting 1st on the SUPER LEAGUE A 2009 log, 10 points clear of 2nd place rivals Maties.

Enjoy a brief history of Hammies with Hugh Bladen and Robbie Fleck Read More >>

Puma takes a bite at Adidas

I was having a look at the 2oceansvibe website and I saw there is quite a war of words going on in the comments section of one of the posts.

The post features quite a number of B&I Lions players, who are sponsored by Adidas, going to town in the Puma store at the V&A Waterfront. One pic even shows Gordon D’Arcy getting his kit off right there in the store. In a country where we aren’t really allowed to sledge other companies in advertising campaigns, I always love to see things like this. A number of the pics feature B&I Lions players in their official kit, with the Adidas logo in full sight, posing with Puma gear.

Now apparently the B&I Lions are sponsored by Adidas as a team, but a few of the Irish players have personal sponsorships by Puma, who cares, I love it!

With the 1st B&I Lions test looming less than 2 days away, I found some footage of ‘why the B&I Lions were so successful in 1997′. It was awesome to see some footage of some of South Africa’s rugby greats, Henry Honniball, James Small, Gary Teichmann, to name a few.

It must be said though, the current Springbok team is of a higher quality than that of 1997, boasting over 700 test caps between them. I feel that this years B&I Lions team is also of a lower quality than their 1997 counterparts. Will Saturdays test be a true reflection of this? I think so, and I can’t wait. Watch the clips below on where we went wrong in ‘97, I don’t see it happening again. The ref has to watch that offside line though.

Kickoff at 15h00 local time for those of you living under a rock.

Bismark and The Beast - devestating duo

This Saturday is D-day for the Springboks. With the 1st test against the B&I Lions kicking off at 15h00 local time. We have spent the last few weeks making our Bok selections for the crucial opening test match. This week we are highlighting on the Springbok front row. Now, I’m not going to pretend like I know a hell of a lot that goes on between the battle of the big men in the front row, so I’m going to keep it short and sweet.

One of the most iconic players over the last few years has to be the man they call ‘BEEEAAAST’, his name ringing out at stadiums around the world whenever he touches the ball, clears a ruck, or makes a devastating tackle. I must admit, I am a big fan of the powerhouse that is ‘The Beast’, so much so that my fierce Jack Russel is named after him. The Beasts strength is an asset to any team. His leg pumping run down the touch line, dragging a Bulls player behind him, during the Bulls vs Sharks game, is just another testament to this mans enormous strength. Read More >>

Botha & Matfield - deadly combination

With Less than two weeks to go and PDV already having selected his squad for the upcoming B&I Lions tests, his selections in the engine room are looking pretty strong. Today we are taking a look at the lock selections for the Springboks.

With the lock combination of Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield also pairing up together in the victorious Bulls Super 14 team, it would be difficult to separate them, arguably the best lock pairing ever to wear the Green and Gold jumpers.

Bakkies Botha is often labelled as a thug in the media for his role as the Bok enforcer. Personally I think that all has to do with mind games, as I don’t see anything he does any different to the game Brad Thorn or Nathan Sharpe play.

Having spent some time in NZ myself, the general attitude to Botha’s game is Read More >>

Schalk Burger on the rampage

With the first B&I Lions test looming ominously closer and closer, we are moving into the battle of the loosies for Springbok selection. I have selected a whole host of videos for you to watch this week, just follow the links provided and make you own decissions on who you think should be there.

There have been some strong performers in the loose forward department during this year’s Super 14 competition. Most probably one of the biggest eyebrow raisers in this year’s Springbok squad selection was the omission of Heinrich Brussow, who was unarguably one of the best fetchers in the 2009 Super 14. One has to feel sorry for Brussow who also loses out on the chance to play in the Emerging Boks side due to their policy of only picking uncapped players. Although I do understand that is is the Emerging Springboks, maybe the name should be changed to include some players that just missed out on selection in a similar sense to that of the NZ Colts.

#6 Flank: One of the biggest names in Springbok rugby over the past few years is Schalk Burger. Burger has become a stalwart in the Springbok team since making his debut under the coaching farce of Rudolf Straeli and has walked into most Springbok sides since then. As a player he has always had his supporters and those apposed to him, labelling him as nothing more that a thug. For me Burger has always had a huge amount of energy on the field, making more than double the amount of tackles than anyone else in one season of Super rugby. With the uncanny ability to make a tackle, get to his feet, and tackle the next ball carrier, Burgers work rate around the park is phenomenal. Many pundits are saying that Burger doesn’t show the same levels of energy on the field in recent times, and although this may be true, I still feel he does enough to warrant selection. I do feel that Burger needs to work on his ball carrying abilities, and stop that whole ‘hop, skip and jump’ thing he does before going into contact.

Read More >>

Fourie Du Preez - simply the best

This week we take a look at the half back combinations for the up and coming B&I Lions tour. I say ‘combinations’, because I believe it is important for the half backs to have a good understanding of one another.

Scrumhalf: We are currently blessed in SA at the moment with some of the best number 9’s in the business, and my first choice simply is the best in the world at the moment, and has been at the top of his game for the last few years. Fourie Du Preez controls a game, has absolute command of his forwards, takes pressure off his flyhalf and puts opposition on the back foot with his deadly tactical kicking, lacks nothing in defence, his pass is spot on, he clears the ruck in good time, and has pace top burn with his sniping runs from the fringes. He would walk into any international match-day XV, an he’s certainly in mine.

As a backup I’d have Read More >>

Jacques Fourie cuts opposition apart

This week we are taking a look at the possible centre selections for the up and coming B&I Lions series.

South Africa is in quite a handy position at the moment with the amount of talented centres we currently have in the mix.

Inside centre, 2nd five eighth, wherever you are, whatever you want to call it. My choice at number 12 picks himself. Arguably one of the most respected centres in world rugby, I feel Jean De Villiers is still the man for the job. He brings a steadiness to the backline, is a good leader and an excellent defensive organiser. With his deft running,  I wish they would use him more effectively in the backline, as he is often used as a strike runner, taking up the crashball. I would like to see De Villiers offload more in the tackle as he often wraps the ball up in contact. It would also be great to see him working on his short kicking game, adding another dimension on attack.

Read More >>

Habana smashes opposition

This week I’ll be focusing on the pace men out on the wings. Wing seems to be a bit of a touchy subject, with everyone having their  favourites.

I feel we need speedsters on the wings that are not only great finishers, but also look for work, can create a spark when given the smallest of opportunity, link up with the fullback well and can defend their hearts out.

South Africa is blessed with four or five of the fastest men in world rugby at the moment, namely: Read More >>